Legal Question in Criminal Law in Arizona

Bench Warrant and living overseas

I currently have a bench warrant in Arizona and am residing overseas in Europe, where I plan on living for a long while to come. I have a US passport as well as a European passport from another country. I simply got tired and fed up with the 'system' after 8 months of waiting around for my case, where nothing was moving forward so I simply left. The ititial charges in AZ were of a class 2 felony in that state.

My question is: Other then traveling to the USA, will I ever be hampered by this bench warrant while traveling internationally and using my a) US Passport or b) my EU passport?

Thank you.


Asked on 12/21/08, 6:22 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jason Lamm Jason D. Lamm Attorney at Law

Re: Bench Warrant and living overseas

Quite possibly, this could be a problem. Class two felonies are serious offenses so, in issuing the warrant, the prosecutor may have asked for an extraditable warrant. Some of these warrants are honored by Interpol and some are not. Even if they are not, you could still be detained and jailed until such time as the agency that issued the warrant is contact for verification if they want to proceed with extradition.

You should seriously consider hiring counsel to look into the matter on your behalf. Feel free to contact me via email if you want to pursue this.

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Answered on 12/21/08, 10:27 am


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